


Never Alone

by IsobelSionisFalcone



Category: Fallout 4
Genre: Accidental overdose, F/M, Med-Ex
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-04-01
Updated: 2018-04-01
Packaged: 2019-04-16 12:48:45
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,450
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14165181
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/IsobelSionisFalcone/pseuds/IsobelSionisFalcone
Summary: Nora has to take Med-Ex for a trapped nerve. Danse forgot to adjust the dose accordingly.





	Never Alone

**Author's Note:**

> I've been staring at this fic for a while. Just had to get it published. Hope you enjoy!

Danse never really slept peacefully. He'd seen too much to keep his dreams peaceful, but after settling down into his bed roll and drifting off into painful nightmares, the rude awakening he received made him groggy, as if he'd had one too many drinks before bed.

"Danse?"

He felt two points of pressure against his chest, two more beside his hips and, in the inky darkness as the last remnants of sleep faded, he could smell Mutfruit and blood.

"Danse?"

He didn't know why Nora was whispering. They were the only two on the mission, stuck inside an abandoned cabin until morning light.

Unfortunately, the post-natal body was not without its problems, as they were both finding out; after a charging Radstag had knocked Nora right off her feet, she'd felt a pull in her lower back. The creature had pierced her stomach with its antlers, but that was fixed with a Stimpak (she still marveled at the effectiveness of postwar medicine). The searing pain in her back as she stood up was not.

A trapped nerve, she'd told him between colourful curses after the skin had knitted back together. He'd ended up having to carry the Knight until they found somewhere to bunker down. Nora had tried to tell him she could walk it, but she was limping quite badly, the pain shooting down her right leg every time she took a step and so Danse had been forced to take action. He'd given her about half a syringe of Med-Ex when he'd gently placed her down on an old, worn couch. She'd looked like the very epitome of suffering and so, as much as he despised the stuff himself, he couldn't have let her writhe in agony all night long.

Nora had fallen asleep only minutes later, thanks to the powerful painkiller. He'd assumed she'd make it through the small hours and they could use one of the signal grenades to get back to the Prydwen, but now...

"Knight?" he called through the inky darkness. "Hold on a moment. Let me light a few of these candles. It's useless attempting to do anything like this..."

Danse reached blindly for the flip-lighter that he'd left next to the little tea lights he'd found in one of the numerous, rotting cupboards. He lit the three nearest his bed roll and a ring of yellow light was cast around their heads. When the Paladin looked back at the Vault Dweller, he stopped short.

Nora's sea-green eyes were as large as dinner plates, black pupils so heavily dilated that they almost eclipsed the irises entirely. Her sickly pale body was completely rigid and she trembled over him, sweating palms pressed to his chest and knees planted beside his hips. Danse swallowed. A moment passed in which the two did nothing more than blink, Nora clearly too out of it to be thinking properly and her sponsor undoubtedly surprised by this sudden advance. Not that she knew what she was doing...

"Nora, are you... can you hear me?" He asked, unnerved by her unrelenting stare.

She was slow to respond and Danse had to wait a few seconds for what should have been a fairly simple answer. "I think so," Nora replied. "Just about. All the noises are... melding together."

Danse inhaled, panic setting in as he realised that, even though he'd only given her a small dose of Med-Ex, her prewar body wouldn't be accustomed to its strength. She'd had quite the overdose, if her symptoms were anything to go by. For now, he tried to shake the thought that it was his fault, that if Nora didn't make it through the night, her blood would be on his hands. He needed to help her, somehow. 

"Nora, I need you to stay calm," he said. If she went into shock, the effects could be detrimental. "Can you... I need you to move so I can assess you properly."

The Knight swallowed thickly. "Don't go," she pleaded. "I'm scared."

"I'm not going anywhere," he reassured. "You're dehydrated and I just need to get my pack..."

"I can't move."

Danse breathed deeply to steady his nerves. His options were severely limited with Nora in such a state. He'd have to physically move her so he could get water and whatever medical supplies they had, but she was stiff, unmoving as she desperately clung to him for help. They'd found much more than trust in each other over the last few months and normally, insubordination was never a problem with Nora, but with her mind fogged, she was having difficulty processing information.

Placing his hands gently on her waist, he paused and said; "I need to turn you over Nora. Is that alright?" He was careful to keep his tone calm and level.

"O-okay," she replied shakily.

With some careful manoeuvring, the Paladin managed to lift himself enough so that he could curl an arm around Nora's back. From there, he was able to twist his body, bringing Nora with him until eventually, he lay her down gently and sighed with relief. It then occurred to him that lying flat might be painful for her back.

"Are you alright?" he asked. "Is your back hurting like that?"

Again, it took her a little while to respond. "Everything's... sort of... numb."

Danse lit a few more of the tea lights with Nora's fingers clutching his uniform, nails digging in even through the thick material. He took her hands gently and attempted to pry them free, but her grip was like iron. The Paladin held still for a moment and studied the expression of his best friend (perhaps more than that, if he was being truthful). Her eyes were wide with fear and her breaths came out in short, hot little puffs through pale, parted lips. Danse sighed and spoke slowly, clearly, still softly grasping her hands.

"I need you to let go of me, Nora," he said, watching the panic set in far faster than his words. "I won't leave you alone. I just need to get my pack. That's it..."

As he began to move away, Nora gave a pained whine that soaked through to the marrow in his bones, made him swallow as he reached for his supplies. It was a tortured noise, like a wounded animal and it made him want to hold her, to tell her that he'd never let anything happen to her and that he'd never leave her side if she so wished. He couldn't promise either of those things, so he continued to lean towards his pack as Nora shed frightened tears.

"Danse... Danse please! Please, don't go! I'm so scared, please..."

With a short sigh of determination, Danse broke away from Nora's grasp, leaning over far enough so that he could retrieve his pack. For those few short seconds, he had to tell himself that it was for Nora's good. Her cries wrenched at his heart, clawed at his resolve and made him feel ill with worry. Once he'd placed it down next to his thigh, he felt he had to make up for that short loss of contact that had caused her so much anguish. He couldn't listen to her cry. It broke him.

Lifting Nora into his lap, her head resting in the crook of his elbow, he whispered gentle comforts and smoothed her dark, damp hair away from her forehead. With his free hand, he unbuckled his pack and pulled out a canister of purified water and a clean cloth, pausing to unscrew the cap and pour a little onto the off-white gauze.

"It's alright, Nora. I'm right here..." he murmured, dabbing the glistening droplets of sweat from her face and neck. She was shivering, but he could feel her entire body burning up, the heat passing through both of their uniform's and making him uncomfortably warm. He focused all of his energy on quieting Nora, too absorbed in comforting her to care about anything else. He forgot about the world outside. Right then and there, it was he and Nora.

Picking up the canister of water, Danse brought it to her lips and tipped it slowly. She drank a good two thirds of the can all at once before she lightly tugged his wrist, signalling she'd had enough. He placed it back down within arm's reach, should she need any more, and brought his hand to hers. She held it, not quite as hard as the first time, and gave a shaky sigh.

As Nora began to relax and her eyelids drooped, Danse pressed a tender kiss to her hairline. "Don't worry, Nora," he said. "I'm right here. I won't leave you. Not ever."


End file.
